The Department of State (US Passport Service) has published a proposed rule on Regulations.Gov announcing the intention to increase the fees charged for a number of consular services, including an increase in passport application fees. These fees are being increased to “ensure that fees for consular services reflect costs to the United States of providing the services.”
Reportedly, the Department of State conducted a study between 2007 and June 2009 and determined that their Agency is not sufficiently recovering the costs to perform various consular services for the public, which the issuance of a US Passport is a major portion of activity.
The proposed fees include a $35 increase in the fee for a new passport or passport renewal and the new fee will be a total of $110 to acquire your passport. Among other changes, a child’s passport would increase $20 to a total fee of $80. Finally, the relatively newly introduced passport card will see an increase in fees as well.
No specific date is noted for implementation of the increase; however, we’d expect it to occur sometime this year.
So, how does this affect you? Naturally, we’d suggest that you plan ahead and apply for a new US passport soon!
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Thanks Val! We look forward to hearing from you!
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